Excessive Absenteeism in the Nursing Profession

[MasterStreet]

Is excessive absenteeism a problem in your healthcare setting? First of all, let's

discuss my definition of excessive absenteeism. Of course, absenteeism is the absence of a staff member from a scheduled workday. Excessive absenteeism refers to habitual absences or call-outs by an individual staff member. For example, is there a nursing staff member who calls off from work three to four times a month? When you come to work and learn that someone called out, do you automatically know who it is? Some characteristics of excessive absenteeism include multiple callouts a month, patterned callouts, and always leaving early or coming in late.

Causes of Excessive Absenteeism in Nursing

Illnesses are one of the most commonly used excuses for call outs by nursing staff. The illness may pertain to the staff member, a family member or child, and may be related to either a chronic or acute condition. A few examples of chronic conditions are migraines, back pain, or abdominal issues. Some examples of acute conditions are the flu, bronchitis, or strep throat. Other call-out excuses may include problems with transportation, child care issues, or a death in the family. Most of these issues are excusable and there may even be an excuse provided by a physician. Excessive patterns of absenteeism may be present when the excuses get odd, made up, or overused. I have heard nurses use the excuse that their goat is sick and their dog was giving birth. Sometimes callouts occur based on staffing. If your facility displays the staffing pattern for the next day, nursing staff may call out because they know that staffing will remain adequate in their absence or they know that staffing is already short-handed. The lack of disciplinary action for excessive absenteeism may also be a cause. When staff know that they will not be held accountable or that the disciplinary action will be minor, they continue their behavior. Although we all have to call out at times, excessive absenteeism in nursing can have negative effects on the profession.

How Excessive Absenteeism Can Negatively Affect the Work Environment

Excessive absenteeism can have various negative effects on the nursing work environment and the nursing profession in general. We are all aware of the global nursing shortage, problems of excessive absenteeism only exacerbate this problem by decreasing

what may be an already shortened staffing pattern. Other examples of the negative effects of excessive absenteeism include low staff morale, increased workloads, decreased productivity, disruption of routine workflow, job dissatisfaction, and a lower quality of patient care. Let's take a more indepth look at some of these negative effects.

Disruption of routine workflow:

Nursing staff generally have the same patient assignments, hall, or unit. When another staff member calls out, assignments have to be rearranged to supplement for the absent staff member. This can cause a disruption in your usual routine and the continuity of care.

Increased workloads:

When nursing staff is absent this generally means that other staff members will have more patients assigned to their workload.

Decreased productivity:

Nursing staff may have less motivation resulting in a decreased output of work, which can be costly to employers.

Low morale:

Nursing staff become unhappy and dissatisfied with their job and have a negative overall outlook of their work environment.

Job dissatisfaction:

Job dissatisfaction related to staffing issues and call outs is can be directly linked to high turnover rates.

Decreased quality of patient care:

Patient satisfaction, which is one of the most important measurements for the quality of patient care, suffers greatly when nurses have low morale, increased workloads, and decreased productivity.

Solutions to Excessive Call Outs in Nursing

What are some interventions that could help decrease excessive absenteeism in the nursing profession?

1. A firmly set attendance policy
2. Strict and consistent adherence to the attendance policy
3. Verbal counseling
4. Written write-ups
5. Termination

As nurses, we took an oath to provide good, high-quality patient care to the people whom we deliver care to. A nurse should also be professional, punctual, and a team player because it takes every member of the interprofessional healthcare team to deliver good quality patient care. Attendance plays a huge part in this. We must take into account who might be affected in our absence including your team members, patients, your organization as a whole, and the healthcare system in general. Nursing is not just an 8 or 12-hour job, but a career that requires 24-hour accountability, and excessive absenteeism has no place in the nursing profession.

This article is just some of my thoughts on the issue. Is this a problem in your healthcare setting? What interventions would you recommend to resolve the problem?

[guest974915]

You're saying :"am a 10 year Registered Nurse with experience in Med/Surg, long-term care, Hospice, and Rehabilitation. I have held multiple leadership positions and recently graduated with a master's degree in nursing education"

Boy I can see a mile away the team you playing for.

How much solid experience could you possible have with only in ten years and mostly spent five different units and multiple leadership positions.

Although I believe "leadership positions" is a glorified word for lazy,do nothing,sit in your office shopping on computer and going to "meetings"where you are fed,hydrated while your staff can not even go to the bathroom.

And oh yes you mention discipline, most of the ones abusing sick time are your own favorites,your friends.

Yes and I know about your sick time use policies all arbitrary and the counseling part where you go and tell nurses "dont get sick" like we have any control over family death,flu, pulled muscles,foot problems,diarrhea.

Let me just stop now.You will never be on the staff side,too busy doing your "termination" of sick people.

^^^^^This is the absolute best post in this thread and no truer words were ever spoken-perfect, major kudos, and a huge thank you from your comrades in the trenches for telling it like it really is. Bravo!!

[Flatline, BSN, RN]

Wow, these articles really do spawn debate. Well done OP!

[SisterofMary]

I think employers should offer mental health days for nurses. No blame, and not subject to discipline.

Nurse Beth...this would be awesome.

I wish this were the case. However, I feel like, at least in my facility, the nurse that comes in no matter how fatigued, how tired, how sick, is the nurse that is revered and is being a "team player." And the nurse that calls in, "leaving the floor short," is looked at negatively. No one wants to hear at the start of shift that a employee called out. However, sometimes, you do need a break and I wish that could be recognized.